With Christmas only a few months away, we take a closer look at ET The Extra Terrestrial: Light Years From Home from Funko Games.
He’s 3 million light years from home …and needs your help getting back!
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was left behind, and now, federal agents are coming for him! In this cooperative adventure game, play as Elliott, Gertie, Michael, and Greg as you work as one to send E.T. home.
Bike through the neighbourhood, using shortcuts and ramps to avoid the agents. Collect items that E.T. can use to build a communication device and call his ship. Then get E.T. to the clearing before his heart light fades!
ET The Extra Terrestrial: Light Years From Home from Funko Games is available now priced around £24.99 and is aimed at ages 10 and above.
Disclosure: This product was provided free of charge in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Let’s be honest. Even though there is time left this year, we are already planning the 2023 games. There are bound to be more release date casualties before December, including some of the major releases we had been looking forward to this year that was edge-guarded into the following.
One of the most popular gaming genres is the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. What does the future hold for these popular games that include exciting firefights and a ton of adventure?
We examine the 10 most anticipated 2023 first-person shooter games and advise you to check the FPS Champion website for the latest FPS news, guides and reviews.
Even though this first-person shooter style differs from others, it still has components like starfield, making the game even more exciting. In truth, Bethesda hasn’t been quite clear about what starfield is or what gamers may anticipate from it.
We know that it will have FPS and RPG components, that you will visit several worlds while traveling through space, and that the experience should be legendary.
RoboCop: Rogue City
You take on the role of the legendary Alex Murphy in this game and defend the citizens of Detroit against those who seek to corrupt the city from within.
You must take whatever actions are necessary to carry out the Prime Directives and save Detroit using your illustrious arsenal. But heed the warning: you will face strong opposition. It is up to you to determine how far you are willing to go for peace.
Payday 3
Payday has produced a variety of fantastic gameplay moments. Payday 2 was renowned for its DLC material and made advantage of it to ensure that the heists were grander, and the story was developed further. Nothing should change in Payday 3.
In this game, you are put in a “live city” and are required to pull out the riskiest heists ever. Therefore, be sure that you, your team, and your allies are prepared since only cooperation can do this.
XDefiant
A squad of gunslingers battle for dominance in XDefiant, a game that initially looks to be another in a long series of arena combat games but is really described as a combination of fierce gunplay, customized gear, and specialized factions.
You’ll have your job cut out for you persuading your squad to listen to you and cooperating to overcome the obstacles in this really original game.
Nightingale
Many stories have a protagonist who isn’t very knowledgeable but has a good heart and strives to return to their roots or start their own thing in the aftermath of all that has occurred to them.
Nightingale’s things are a little different since the game places you in a setting with others with unique powers. Your main objectives are to save lives and identify Nightengale. Find out in this brand-new 2023 game if you can get out of the maze of difficulties and terror that is waiting for you.
ROBOBEAT
Numerous video games have attempted to capture music in novel and engaging ways. We’re eager for the release of Robobeat, a game that aims to achieve precisely that. The rhythm shooter Robobeat aims to maximize your damage by firing in time with the music.
The artificial creature Frazzer is holding your world prisoner in this game. For a better rating and to do more harm, you must battle him to the beat of the music. Because the game has a roguelike component, it never becomes monotonous.
Anger Foot
If you’re creating a game that is solely focused on spades, you need to have a solid foundation. Anger Foot excels at doing that. In the game, a city is where you are. One that calls for someone to take the initiative and stomp a boot in the faces of evildoers.
As a novel approach to save the day, you can roam the city kicking in people’s doors and faces. There’s more to this game than you may realize, and gunfights also appear to be important.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
What would the new gaming year be without at least one Warhammer game? Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a title that appears to be fully booked. As a lone space marine, you must fire down anything that stands in your path as you navigate various obstacles and secrets.
Be careful since the adversaries you encounter won’t be interested in getting along with you, so you shouldn’t either. Make the trip into the shadows with a companion if you can.
Marauders
Marauders are your opportunity if you’d want to see an alternative Earth once more. In this game, the Great War never came to a conclusion, and by the 1990s, the planet was on the verge of collapse under the weight of industrialization.
The main objective is to go from ship to ship and rescue them for components that you can utilize to live. You can play by yourself or with other people. In any case, a difficult task lies ahead.
One of the numerous purposes of video games is to relieve tension. Shooter games are popular among players looking for thoughtless entertainment, and the genre is expanding yearly.
More high-profile game developers are ready to delay their release dates to gain a little extra development time and make their games top-notch for us players. There are many new games to add to your wishlist for the coming year, regardless of your preferred platform.
In the world of 2D platformers, the last thing I expected to come across was a zombie cooking action game thrown in. That’s exactly what Dungeon Munchies is. Released on PC and Nintendo Switch this fun indie title has a lot to offer but could do with a little longer in the oven.
Dungeon Munchies Premise
The game’s basic premise is that you die… and get reanimated as a zombie minion of Simmer, the undead necro-chef who wants to escape this underworld. All is not as it seems and the more you begin your ascent upwards, the more the strange lives of the creatures inhabiting this place unravel before you. The game’s story plays out with a lot more depth the more you get into it. You learn more about Simmer, her friends, and the enemies along the way. The comedy is actually pretty funny, if not a little gross in places!
Gameplay
The game feels familiar with its side-scrolling navigation through the world below as you slowly make your ascent upwards to escape.
The RPG element of the game centers around gear and abilities. Abilities are learned through the game’s central mechanic. Cooking food! Well, less food and more literally any bits that fall off the creatures and monsters you kill. These ingredients make all sorts of weird and wonderful “foods and drinks”. Consuming them grants you specific powers or buffs. Higher jumping, different effects on weapons like poisons or lightning, and increases in resistance and health.
In addition, with materials and some of these ingredients, you can craft a variety of weapons like bows, swords, staffs, and axes and off-hand items like shields and magic dealing objects. Deciding what to eat and abilities to use along with what items you use will aid you on your quest.
The controls for the game are interesting on the Switch. The game was originally released on PC, and it feels like the controls were designed with that in mind. The aim mechanics feel a little slippery with a joystick so it can be hard to line up attacks properly. This is especially true in the bigger battles with many enemies on the screen.
This unfortunately doesn’t translate well to jumping. The game uses precision platforming systems, but because the controls feel slightly off, it can be challenging and annoying to perform properly executed jumps.
The other aspect that was a bit of a let-down during the playthrough is that combat felt a little easy… as did traversing the world. I was more going through the motions than having to be tactically minded. I presume this wouldn’t be the case on higher difficulty settings, but I never felt much in peril as I played.
Visuals and Audio
Visually, this game is fun to look at. Featuring a unique set of characters and monsters with macabre overtones it’s never boring as you explore further. The cartoon art style is paired with anime art cutscenes. The effects of the monsters’ attacks also look great and feel varied – from wasps shooting laser beams to sludge monsters throwing out slime. Then, of course, you get boss battles which offer up even more visual delights, my favourite being the one that fires bullet-hell style projectiles.
The game boasts over 40 original tracks which feel unique and varied enough as you travel from area to area. The general game sound effects aren’t too bad either. Sadly, the dialogue portions aren’t voice acted which would have been a nice touch… but I could have done without the ‘old-style’ RPG clicks as letters appear on the screen.
So, is Dungeon Munchies worth it?
Dungeon Munchies is an interesting concept and I always want to support indies where I can. However, Dungeon Munchies feels like it’s a game that needs a bit of work before it’s worth picking up. I will say it is fun in its food and crafting mechanics and the plot is great. If they can patch the control mechanisms to make them better, then this would be a solid platforming experience.
Running a business is a tough job. There are many things to do and so many pitfalls stand in your way. On top of this, you have disgruntled customers to appease and a constant stream of orders to get right. How about if you then add a ruined building to the mix? Well, this is exactly what happens in Lemon Cake. This cute game is hauntingly good and it’ll push you to your limits.
Developed by Cozy Bee Games and published by SOEDESCO, this is a business management title. What’s more, on the surface it appears a simple endeavour. However, once you look a little deeper, you soon realise it has some wonderfully challenging mechanics that’ll keep you on your toes. Sadly, though, this is only a solo experience. Consequently, you can’t run your business with friends, and I think this is a missed opportunity.
Look after the animals and water the plants.
Lemon Cake is a cute business game.
The words cute and business game rarely combine. Mostly, this genre is hardcore and time-consuming. Now, Lemon Cake is both of those things, but its story and protagonists are heartwarmingly cute. As such, you’ll lose yourself in this small but hectic world of cafe management and cake baking.
As the hero, you stumble into a dilapidated bakery. As the dust settles, you are faced with a ghost. Instead of running, you stay and listen to this spirit’s tale of woe. Accordingly, you feel equally inspired and sorry for the supernatural being, so you decide to help out. However, you didn’t realise how big the task would be. Unfortunately, every element of this bakery/cafe is ruined, and it’ll take time and money to put things right. Luckily, though, your customers are willing to help turn this business around.
Like a cake, this has many layers.
At first glance, I thought this would be a straightforward affair. Instead, I soon discovered that the gameplay mechanics are a rich tapestry of minor elements. Consequently, you must balance cooking times, delivery speed, recipes, and cleaning if you wish to succeed. On top of this, there is a mustached ghost who is obsessed with bugs. He will visit you periodically and you’ll complete a small mini-game. This is probably the weakest portion of the game as it’s neither interesting nor is it challenging. Its only saving grace is that it lasts less than a minute.
This aside, the rest of the action is brilliant and has a strategic edge to it. Subsequently, if you are methodically minded, much of the action will appeal to you. Every day comprises the same routine. You prepare your shopfront, water your plants, clean your animals, and stoke your fires. Once you are ready, you open the doors and deal with every customer. However, things are rarely as simple as they seem, and Lemon Cake is no different. With limited seats and a few window displays, you must balance speed over profit as you try to appease everyone.
What will you upgrade next?
Demanding customers.
Like other cooking games, your customers have limited patience. As such, once they place their order, you must work quickly. In the kitchen, you’ll combine an array of ingredients from sugar, flour, milk, eggs, or fruit. These will then be mixed together and either cooked, frozen, or served as they are. Understandably, the easier the recipe, the quicker the turnaround. However, this impacts profit margin and slows down your progress. Accordingly, it is a fine balance between complex bakes and a simple sugary treat.
The cooking and serving of goods are great, but I enjoyed the business expansion mechanics more. As your character levels up, new recipes are unlocked. You may select between 3 options and these add variety to your menu. Furthermore, you must purchase new ovens, buy chickens and cows, and plant berry bushes and trees. As you expand your ingredients, your recipes become more varied and complex. At this point, you begin earning the big bucks. In turn, you can then improve the cafe area by adding new seating, encouraging cats to visit and more.
Whatever way you wish to tackle the action is up to you. However, you must balance an awful lot of elements to succeed. Accordingly, you must consider what areas to improve and then stick to your plan.
Lemon Cake is indie gaming personified.
Indie gaming has come on leaps and bounds. Yet, they rarely compete with their visually superior triple-A cousins. Now, this may seem like a stupid statement but bear with me. What I’m getting at is that Lemon Cake personifies everything that is great about indie gaming. Its animation isn’t perfect, but it works. The backdrops are varied but lack detail, and the colours are rich, warm, and welcoming. In short, it’s nothing spectacular, but it looks amazing nonetheless. With 4 tiny rooms to explore and a range of similar customers to look at, it could have failed. However, I loved the refined approach.
What was also great was the calm and folksy soundtrack. The mellow music was relaxing and suited the game’s core concept. Alongside this, the basic sound effects added depth and realism to each task. Sadly, though, it isn’t a game with memorable audio, but it’s pleasant and enjoyable to listen to.
Keep on cooking and make every customer happy.
Occasionally wayward controls.
Mostly, Lemon Cake performs perfectly. The responsive controls and excellent layout make it easy to play. However, occasionally, the controls are clumsy and a little wayward. When this happens, it is really frustrating as it breaks the rhythm of your approach. Fortunately, though, it doesn’t happen often enough to be detrimental to the overall experience.
On paper, Lemon Cake is pretty repetitive. You follow the same routine day in, day out, and this could become tedious. However, with so many recipes to unlock, plenty of upgrades to install, and many ingredients to use, there is no rest for the wicked. Alongside this, there is a tough and demanding achievement list that requires hours of gaming. Subsequently, it has both replay value and longevity.
Lemon Cake is wonderfully relaxing and mentally demanding.
Cooking simulation games are rarely relaxing. Yet, somehow Lemon Cake gets the balance just right. With a beautiful setting and a fun story, you’ll fall for its charms. But you’ll also be tested mentally, as you must be methodical and calm if you wish to succeed. I adored its simplicity, fun characters, and casually addictive nature. Consequently, I recommend you buy it here! Can you repair the bakery and run a successful cafe? Plan your menu, harvest the ingredients, and keep everyone happy.
With Christmas only a few months away, we take a closer look at Treasure X Robots Gold.
Remove the Rust and Build Your Bot with Treasure X Robots Gold. Discover the future of Robots when you search for REAL Gold Dipped Treasure. Take on 15 levels of adventure as you discover and repair the most amazing Robots.
Reveal your Robot by pouring water into the chamber to remove its rust coating and bring back its “Bling”! Cut open the Container with your Tool to find the remaining parts and build your Bot! Then crack open the Container to release the Robo Dirt.
Search through the Robo Dirt to discover your Robot’s “Power Core”. Will you find a REAL Gold Dipped “Power Core” Treasure? There are 6 Robots to collect. Look out for Robots with awesome Metallic and Transparent Finishes. All the Treasure X Robots have interchangeable parts.
Mix and match all you Robots to create new, unique versions of the Bots! The more you collect the more unique Robots you can create. Kids will love this futuristic unboxing adventure toy as they reveal, repair and build while they search for Treasure!
Each Treasure X Robot comes with the robot, a stand, treasure and a tool to help you excavate the treasure.
My son is a big fan of the Treasure X series – over the last couple of years he has enjoyed playing with various Treasure X toys, including the Treasure Tomb, the bottles (his favourite so far), the Monsters and the Dinos. The Robots are this year’s Treasure X toy and he loved it. He also has the Mega Treasure Bot too! One of the things he really loves is not knowing which character you will get and then trying to complete the collection.
The Treasure X Robot is available now priced around £15.99.
Disclosure: This product was provided free of charge in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Thunderful Group is a group of companies that develops, publishes and invests in games as well as distributes Nintendo products, games, game accessories and toys. Founded in 2017 Thunderful Games is one of the two business segments in Thunderful Group, the other being Thunderful Distribution. Over the last few years Thunderful Games has, organically and via acquisitions, grown into a global organization with eight development studios and over 300 employees. Besides the award-winning internal development pipeline, Thunderful Games also publishes a large number of third-party titles and invests in external game projects.
– Thunderful Games
Thunderful Games at EGX 2022
Astonishingly it’s been over a week ago now since EGX 2022. One of the biggest booths there was from Thunderful Games showcasing no less than six games! All the games provided were in different stages of development, but all were fantastic and offered something for everyone.
I got to spend time with the team from Thunderful Games and sample all the games they brought with them! So here’s my take on each one.
Planet of Lana
On a planet of undisturbed peace between humans, animals, and nature things are about to change for a young girl and her loyal animal companion. This is the epic sci-fi setting for Planet of Lana, the new game from Wishfully and published by Thunderful Games.
In this wonderfully cinematic puzzle adventure platformer, you play as both the young girl and through unique control mechanics, the loyal friend too. The pair set off on a rescue mission as the world’s harmony is coming undone from the arrival of machines.
Here the game begins. The stage I played was beautiful to look at, the hand-painted art style is both charming and mesmerising. I loved the art and the character models. Also, the animal companion is adorable, and I want one!
The companion does more than just look adorable though, as you progress, they learn new abilities that you can use to help you solve certain geographic navigation puzzles. The controls are as you would expect with a unique mechanism. You can direct your loyal companion to stay or follow as well as move to different locations. All these movements become vital for solving certain aspects, such as activating platform controls and more. How this works in practice is excellent and provides a new dimension to this genre of game.
I can’t stress enough how beautiful this game is, and how relaxing this game was to play. It wasn’t all combat and combined with the soundtrack made it a wonderful experience.
Planet of Lana is currently in development for a 2023 release. It should be available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. Find out more at the official website!
Togges
From Regular Studio comes their debut project, Togges. Published again by Thunderful Games. Togges was a great 3D platformer that features a vast number of new mechanics. In the game you are tasked by King President to dominate the universe… so you can save it, of course!
In the game, you play as a Roomba dropping and collecting blocks (Togges) that enable you to complete puzzles in the landscape and collect fruit and other tokens. You can traverse each world (which plays as the surfaces of globes so feels very 3D when traveling) to work out where you need to go, and to find the fruits you need to collect. It isn’t that simple though. You always need your Togges with you! Spreading, and stacking is the only way anything can be done in this collect-A-thon game as it’s the Togges that do the work. You have a limit of cubes you can lay so careful planning, and tactical thinking is key. You can hoover up these cubes and relay them as necessary if you go wrong – but it’s vital to take them with you!
What I found fascinating about this game was how complex this mechanic made the puzzles. From having to get over running rivers to open forcefield gates by stacking a certain number. In addition, different colour Togges have different powers. The ones I saw were the basic red cubes and then the yellow ones that had a higher stack limit. What’s more, you can only lay certain ones down depending on the Togge available.
The worlds I saw were varied and the fun cartoon art style made the game visually interesting and joyful to look at. The fun carried over into the soundtrack which was lively and catchy.
Togges is a game to lose hours in! Set for a 2022 multiplatform release Togges is one to watch if you want a unique platformer in your life. Don’t let King President down… you know you do. Find out more at the official website!
Wavetale
From Thunderful Games comes Wavetale. This is a game already released on, of all things, Google Stadia. I have never considered even looking at Stadia before I got hands-on with this game! If it isn’t enough that Wavetale is the game that made me look at Stadia, I’ll tell you more.
Now I should preface this by saying that don’t worry – although the news broke that Google is shutting down Stadia services in January 2023, Wavetale will be coming to PC and consoles soon. You can download the Steam demo currently.
Wavetale is a story-driven action-adventure game that stole my heart. So brilliantly charming, so visually beautiful, and wow was it fun. Exploring a vast open sea on the decaying world, you play as Sigrid, a young girl who befriends a shadow that gives her unique powers.
These powers form the main basis of travel and puzzle solving. Firstly, Sigrid can walk on water, and she uses this ability to surf the calm waters and bigger waves. I cannot stress how fun this was! You can speed up, perform jumps, and, spinning your net around, helicopter down from insane heights.
Playing part of the story I traveled through the waters to various areas to capture energy to restore power to the populated area. Each section felt unique with fluid combat, and environmental puzzles to solve. The pacing was fast, but the controls always felt responsive. What really stunned me was the camera work as it followed Sigrid performing a variety of jumps as she swung up to different levels. This felt like a tracking camera in an action movie.
Wavetale is a unique concept and is set to deliver a heart-warming story combined with beautiful graphics, great music and voiceover, and challenging puzzles. Find out more at the Thunderful Games website!
Tinkertown
What do you get if you cross classic Zelda and Minecraft? Well, that would be Tinkertown! From Headup and published by Thunderful Games this was an action-adventure/crafter that was initially released in 2020.
Tinkertown is pitched as a multiplayer sandbox (although there is a single-player mode too) where you must collect resources to build items, shelters, and more. Once you’ve crafted these items you can begin your adventure! You can go explore the procedurally generated worlds, collecting more exotic resources. As with most builders – you can eventually unlock recipes to craft better quality gear. Once this is done, it’s time to complete quests and, more importantly. Delve headfirst into dungeons to find treasure and beat bosses!
The top world is relatively danger-free comparatively, but this is by no means the case everywhere. You will come up across difficult foes right from the outset that you either need to fight or find a path around. Once you enter the dungeons though, it’s a very different story! Combat is challenging. Almost Soulsborne challenging, which I didn’t expect from this type of game but found refreshing and immensely enjoyed.
For me, I found controller play difficult, I attempted to kill a skeleton with a potato at one point, but over time you get used to the control layout. I think I would prefer a keyboard and mouse for this title though.
The art style reminds me of classic Zelda, and it made me smile. Tinkertown is an enjoyable experience for fans of classic action-adventure games who enjoy the survival/crafting experiences of games like Minecraft. It’s certainly one I can’t wait to jump back into!
Tinkertown is available now on PC in Early Access. Find out more at the official website!
Worldless
Next up was a stylised, turn-based, 2D adventure platformer developed by Noname Studios and published by Coatsink. With Ori and Hollow Knight vibes, I jumped right in! Worldless is set in an abstract reality full of entities with opposite goals. It is this dichotomy that is explored as you traverse the shapeless world.
As you progress in the game, you learn new abilities collected from the beings you fight, through the traumatic process of absorption. The puzzles were interesting and exploring this hauntingly beautiful world was a joy. I managed to catch a bit of the soundtrack amidst the buzz of the convention, and it fits perfectly. This is a platformer I can see myself shutting out the world for!
Combat in the game is very interesting. It’s turn-based and highly strategic. The movements are all very fluid and the animations of the monsters are fantastic. What I really enjoyed though was having to time my offensive and defensive capabilities to be victorious. Killing these monsters is crucial to get new abilities that allow you to explore further and do more in the world. Abilities include increasing jump capability, dashing and more. Honestly, it all felt great to experience and the controls were logical and responsive. Worldless is a game to get lost in, enjoy how it makes you feel and think, and ultimately, unlock destiny.
Playing the game, I quickly fell in love with the simplistic art style. It was atmospheric, haunting, yet strangely soothing. I also really enjoyed learning more about the progression tree which reminded me of a constellation and offers many abilities to develop and improve. All of which are key to progression!
Worldless is set for a 2023 release and will be available on Xbox and PC. For more information check out the official website!
The Last Hero of Nostalgaia
One of the funniest games I got to play at EGX 2022 must be The Last Hero of Nostalgaia. Developed by Over The Moon and published by Coatsink this is a Souls-like action-adventure like nothing you will have experienced before.
Nostalgaia is the world of videogames and it’s in trouble! Collapsing back from beautiful fidelity into a mysterious pixelated version of itself. Even the memories are going. Heroes are very much not welcome here, but one, unlikely hero, is stepping up to the challenge of saving everyone.
You play as the most pixelated hero ever to spawn, a stick man. The action-adventure is driven by story and features impressive combat mechanics and a variety of gear that can be improved along the way with full character customisation.
The Souls-like combat is certainly a challenge. If you’re familiar with the type of game and timing of defensive and offensive moves, you should be able to survive for a few seconds longer than most! What makes this game less frustrating, and more motivating is the narrator.
The most sarcastic narrator in a game I’ve ever heard basically hates your very existence and that makes for comedy. And motivation to succeed!
Jumping into the game, I picked my character class (an homage to the Dark Souls games) and set off on my adventure. The game looked fantastic with the blend of modern graphics and pixelation as the world decays. The controls felt good and combat, during the time I was alive, felt responsive.
Having had some time away from the game now I can say one thing… by the time it releases I will very determined to prove that narrator wrong!
The Last Hero of Nostalgia releases on October 19 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. For more information see the official game website!
Final Thoughts on the Thunderful Games Booth
What can I say, Thunderful Games really delivered at EGX 2022, and I can’t wait to spend more time with all these games when they release. I appreciate the time the team spent with me showing me around the booth and the wide variety of games on offer. For more information about Thunderful Games check out their website!
Here is our review of the SimpliSafe Home Security System.
Simple to choose, set-up and use. The DIY home security system is a self-installed and self-maintained alarm. Just stick the sensors in place, and pair them to the Wireless Keypad and Base Station. No drilling. No wiring. No tools. Secure your home in less than an hour.
Smart detection, faster emergency response. Sensors for every window and door. Indoor and outdoor HD security cameras. Hazard detectors to guard against fires, floods and burst pipes. All powered by 24/7 professional monitoring.
Base Station
The base station comes with the base station itself and a power supply.
Keypad
The keypad is ready to use with wall stickers already attached.
Motion Sensor
The motion sensor comes ready to use with wall stickers already attached.
Entry Sensor
The entry sensor comes ready to use with wall stickers already attached.
SimpliCam
The SimpliCam comes with the camera on a mount, a cable and a plug.
Wireless Outdoor Security Camera
The Wireless Outdoor Camera comes with the camera itself attached to a mount, a battery, cable and wall plugs and screws, along with some instructions. The outdoor camera retails for £179.99.
Configuring the System
Configuring the system involves downloading the SimpliSafe app and following the instructions to set up each component of the system.
Final Thoughts
Depending on what type of protection you want, you buy individual components, or kits. If you buy individual components you will need the base station and keypad as a minimum before getting the other components such as the cameras or sensors.
Once you have decided what you need and have purchased the components or kits, it’s time to set everything up. The first thing you need to do is plug in the base station and download the app. From there you follow each of the steps to set up the initial components, set a master code, connect to wifi, name the locations and update the firmware on the devices.
Once that has been done you can add any additional components from within the app.
Setting up the components was really easy – the app is very clear and tells you everything you need to do, it even gives you advice on where to place the components and on what surfaces you need to do different things with the mounting.
All the sensors and the keypad already come with wall sticker stuck to the bace of them so its really easy just to stick them to the wall without effort. The outdoor camera comes with screws and plugs to fit it to an external wall.
Everything you need to do in terms of monitoring the cameras or other components you can do from the app, including making any changes to the settings.
Part of the installation and configuration process is to decide if you want to subscribe to the additional services provided by SimpliSafe. For example, if you subscribe to the Pro or Pro Premium plan, when your alarm goes off a signal is sent through to their professional monitoring centre to determine what to do next. Obviously you have to pay for those services but it’s worth it for the additional peace of mind it brings.
The outdoor camera itself offers 1080p resolution with an 8x digital zoom and a 140º field of view. A built-in motion activated spotlight and HDR let you see all times of the day or night.
There is a rechargeable battery, that when fully charged lasts between 3 and 6 months, the app will advise you when the battery is running low. You just need to remove the battery and recharge it then pop it back in.
The camera also has 2 way audio so you can not only hear whats going on outside, you can also speak to whoever is there too!
It’s very easy to set up notifications in the app depending on what you want to be told about.
If you are looking for an easy to setup and use security system that you can easily add components to, and also be able to subscribe to professional monitoring then take a look at the various options from SimpiSafe, you wont be disappointed.
Caring for animals can be a thankless task. You must clean them, feed them, and offer them shelter. Occasionally, they’ll reward you with love and affection. However, they can be aloof and unsociable. Fortunately, Bunny Park takes away all the hassle of having animals, as all you must do is make their environment attractive, cute, and cosy.
Developed by Cozy Bee Games and published by SOEDESCO, this is a chilled-out park building title. Its laid-back approach lets players relax as time ticks away. Consequently, you’ll waste hours cleaning, renovating, and attracting each of the runaway rabbits. Thankfully, it requires little skill, and accordingly, it can be enjoyed by a whole range of players.
Bunny Park has no story.
Unlike other simulation/park-building games, Bunny Park has no story! As such, you are free to go about your business with few limitations. Now, this may seem pointless, but its lack of direction was refreshing. Instead of having to respond to multiple requests, you decide your own goals and when you wish to complete them.
Though no demands are made of you, there is a goal to aim towards. You are given a small piece of land that once housed 25 rabbits. Unfortunately, this place is now rundown, and the bunnies have fled. With a little care and a watchful eye, you can attract each creature back to its rightful home. To do this, all you must do is clean up, plant food, and place attractive structures.
Feed the rabbits and keep them happy.
Relax and watch the world go by.
The early game is a little frustrating. Money is hard to come by and your rabbits demand plenty of snacks. As such, this isn’t relaxing, and it feels a bit of a grind. Yet, once you overcome the early hurdles, the rest of the game is a breeze. You see, money is awarded by cleaning up debris, or collecting golden rings that are found by each resident. If you clean up enough junk or collect enough rings, you can expand the park, buy some decorations, or invest in butterflies.
The butterflies are a clever way to incorporate automation into this cute and simple title. If you don’t invest wisely, Bunny Park will become tedious and dull. However, if you utilise the butterflies correctly, they will clean your grounds and collect every ring going. This was phenomenal, as it allows you to focus on improving the cute and cosy levels.
By placing decorative items, food, trees, and more, you will make your park more desirable. In turn, this will attract more rabbits, and you’ll earn more cash. Subsequently, it’s a win-win, albeit a bit of a time-sink, nonetheless. If you so wish, you can leave your park running in the background. With no elements of risk or danger, the only rewards are masses of gold and the introduction of new bunnies to the fold.
Nice decor.
A disappointing glitch.
One of the key components of Bunny Park is its seasonal approach. As the game drags on, the seasons are supposed to change. Now, this may seem minor, but it isn’t. The developers created this mechanic to add more variety to the action. Furthermore, the decorative items reflect the season you are in. Accordingly, my game was stuck in Autumn, so my park was awash with season-specific decor.
It was disappointing that this issue ruined the gameplay. Without a larger variety of items to purchase, I lost interest very quickly. Consequently, my decorating skills look haphazard at best, and eye-wateringly bad at worse. I’m sure this is a simple fix and the developers will patch the problem out ASAP.
Bunny Park looks cute as a button.
Thanks to the soft pastel tones and simple sprites, Bunny Park is nice to look at. What’s more, the lack of danger, fire, or blood made for a refreshing change of pace. I adored the presentation as it was as cute as a button. However, the janky camera angle occasionally spoiled the moment. Unfortunately, it was difficult to view your entire park, and this led to jerky and nauseating moments.
If you can cope with the visuals, you’ll live to enjoy some wholesome music. Bunny Park creates a beautiful atmosphere with his rich and touching audio. Like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley, you’ll enjoy a non-offensive soundtrack with a laid-back touch. This is then complemented by some excellent but unobtrusive sound effects.
Clean up this mess!
Slow and clumsy controls.
Bunny Park has been ported from PC and it shows. Sadly, the controls didn’t work particularly well with a controller, and this was annoying. The cursor is slow and arduous, collecting the rings is hit and miss, and the cursor is too big and lacks accuracy. In short, it is a pig to operate, but this matters not. Fortunately, the slow and laid-back gameplay enables you to take your time, and this was lucky. Subsequently, it won’t frustrate you too much, though it should have been better.
The early gaming moments are by far the most challenging. Once this is overcome, the action flows by itself with minor issues. As such, both the longevity and replay value are reduced. Furthermore, the lack of additional seasons impacts your design choices. As a consequence, once you finish the game, you won’t return for more.
Bunny Park is a relaxing time sink.
Bunny Park appeals to your creative side with its relaxing approach. Accordingly, the lack of decorations undermines its full potential. If the developers can patch this problem, the game will be vastly improved. In its current state, it is nice to play, but it lacks depth. However, I still enjoyed it and I recommend you buy it here! Can you improve your park and rescue the rabbits? Clean up, invest, and plant some tasty vegetables.
When Telltale games – the last real bastion of the point-and-click adventure genre – closed in 2018, I met it with a shrug and a wry smile – a few less TV/movie franchise video game adaptions would probably a good thing for the world, or so I thought.
It turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong, as they were also responsible for three games in the Sam and Max series, which – having only just discovered myself by receiving a review code for Sam and Max: Save The World – is like stumbling upon a gold mine that had me re-evaluating my life’s priorities – What kind of sorcery kept me from not knowing a game with humour that so perfectly suited me?
Such is the beauty of video games though; just when you think you’ve seen it all, you get offered a weasel on a stick.
Remastering the first two titles for current consoles is Skunkape games (a small collection of Telltale developers) and thank goodness they have, because these sociopathic crime-fighters – one 6ft fedora-wearing dog and one 3ft sadistic rabbit – and their irreverent self-conscious banter is patently genius, and so frequently tickled me pink that I would intentionally fail the game’s scenarios just to re-experience their hilariousness.
This guy is unbreakable…..unless you talk about his mother.
There is familiarity in a re-occurring main street with the same side characters and a developing story, but the absurdity of the scenario, of each conversation and every line aims to please, and as such exploring every item and every conversation choice is a must.
Sure, certain scenarios are better than others, but most, if not all, will have you grinning like a Cheshire cat and on the verge of laughing out loud, such as Sam and Max filling in as actors on a failing and scriptless sitcom where the plot requires two cowboys to convince their chicken landlord that they aren’t keeping a cow in their city apartment. Stringing along the scenario with a fowl primadonna co-star who doesn’t always take kindly to your unexpected quips is offbeat and amazing.
The delivery of this line is spectacular.
You also have run-ins with mafiosos that wear comically large dog heads, the president, and cosmic beings on your way to ‘saving’ the world, which is actually more like conquering it with the duo causing more collateral damage than a Marvel movie.
Sam and Max’s humour is right up my alley – an ironic parody of detectives, a stage comedy of sorts that hosts Sam and Max like dual deadpan stand ups, where the journey is as unpredictable as the next conversation.
Perhaps one of the reasons I never quite took to the older Lucasarts-esque point-and-click games were that the claustrophobic 2D visuals never quite made it seem like you were playing outside of one scene on your tiny computer monitor, but while you won’t be under any illusion about the type of game you are playing here, the vibrant 3D visuals feel far more expansive and are aided by varied gameplay such a driving section, a shooting arcade game and mock turn-based RPG battles.
Interestingly, the standard frustration with the point-and-click genre doesn’t really come into play here. Items you pick up in each of the chapters factor into the interactive puzzle elements for said chapter and, thankfully, the game’s off-the-wall humour manages not to confuse the process, remaining decipherable throughout.
The fact that it’s able to do this despite the outrageous plot is quite impressive, and even though I – admittedly – cheated far too often, but this was more due to me sharing similar brain capacity to the 3ft rabbit rather than the puzzles themselves being illogical.
Hmmm……how to froth?
While this side-splitting title is undoubtedly a comedy powerhouse, the remaster of the original five chapters doesn’t provide much in the way of value outside of the original content. There are some tweaked visuals as well as some script changes, but apart from that, there isn’t much of an incentive for those who have the game from its original release.
It would have been nice if there were some special features, artwork from Steve Purcell or some of the original comics, but as the saying goes, you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, because this effervescent and evergreen title is an ageless wine with a comically-large gun, and one can only hope that this leads to not only the remastering of the entire trilogy of games on consoles, but also something new. Sam and Max are back, baby.
Some of my fondest gaming memories come from early Street Fighter games. So, when the opportunity came to play the demo of the yet-to-be-released Street Fighter 6 at EGX 2022, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity!
Gameplay
Within the game, there are several modes to explore. Each one offers exciting gameplay opportunities. While I didn’t get to check them all out in the demo briefly the modes are:
World Tour – A new single-player story mode where you create your avatar and fight legends. Forge bonds, improve your abilities, and prove you have what it takes. What interests me about this mode is the promised level of customisation around your avatar. Fighting styles, powers, clothes, and even facial features can be edited to your style. Fights take place in the streets as you prove your worth, and you can learn moves and styles from the roster of Street Fighter legends. World Tour will start in Metro City and branch out worldwide from there.
Battle Hub – In the Battle Hub you can interact with other players, here you can fight other players, check out older Capcom classic arcade games, and much more. One Battle Hub is set to host around 100 players at any one time. You can also purchase cosmetic items to further change the look of your avatar.
Fighting Ground – Here the tradition of local 1v1 or 1vAI fights takes place. This mode also supports online, cross-platform play. In this mode, you can pick your fighter of choice, select what control mode you want and their outfit (as you would expect), and jump straight into the battle. This was where the demo took place. So, picking my favourite go-to since Street Fighter 2 (Chun-Li), I set about getting to grips with Street Fighter 6.
The ability list is extensive, and there was a good mix of classic moves I remember from previous iterations and some new ones too. The match was fast-paced, but the controls in both Classic and Modern modes were responsive. In this mode, additional features such as matches with unique rules and training arenas exist.
Characters in Street Fighter 6
New characters for the game include Jamie, inspired by Yun and Yang (Street Fighter 3). Jamie uses the Drunken Fist (Zui Quan) fighting style and is an expert breakdancer. The drink in his jug is a medicinal tea and not alcohol! Featuring flowing movements and epic combos, he was a lot of fun to play. Even if unfamiliar. It’s always great to see a fighter with a new style.
Kimberly is also a new character for Street Fighter 6. While I didn’t test playing her directly, I did fight her. As a lover of 80’s pop culture, you can see the references in her outfit. Her fighting style is Bushin-ryu Ninjutsu but with her own flare.
No doubt, there will be others before the development process is complete and it will be interesting to see who else gets added to the roster.
In addition to the new characters, there are also several returning veterans that you’d expect: Ryu, Chun-Li, Dhalsim, E. Honda, Guile, Juri, Ken, Luke, and more.
Visuals and Audio
Taking place more in the streets, complete with vibrant graffiti art and loud music, I have to say I was blown away by how the game looked. It was good, really good, and I can’t wait to see the final release. The abilities looked spectacular with unparalleled attention to SFX. It was loud, vibrant, and busy; everything you would want from a next-gen fighting game.
New Mechanics in Street Fighter 6
One of the most intriguing aspects of the latest iteration is the Drive Gauge. This is a meter that starts full as soon as the round begins. However, the more exotic the move you perform the more of the gauge is spent and if you go too hard, too quickly, this will get spent. Once spent, you’ll be at a major disadvantage in what is called a ‘burnout stage’. While the meter does replenish over time, management of this meter is crucial to victory. From playing a few rounds I quickly learned that battles are now far more tactical. Now the strategy is when to play cautiously and when to explode in a flurry of awesome-looking moves. I loved getting to grips with this system as it gave the bouts a whole new dimension!
Another new feature is the ability to switch between classic controls and modern controls. Modern controls allow you to enjoy the full flow of battle without necessarily having to remember all those button combos. I tried this feature out, and it certainly helped me remember who does what when I couldn’t necessarily remember the correct order of buttons for the perfect combo! This is great for those players who may be put off by remembering complex combos.
Linked to this system are a collection of new moves that can deliver astonishing damage or, if timed well, in the case of the Drive Parry, fantastic defensive capabilities.
Timing is key, strategy is key but when it works… it’s wonderful fun.
Final Thoughts and Release Information
Maybe it’s because I won two out of three rounds, but I really enjoyed my time with Street Fighter 6. Visually it looks great, and the controls seemed responsive. Switching between classic mode (full-on nostalgia with control combos) and modern controls is a nice touch. The Drive Gauge is going to make things interesting too! Now it’s time to re-learn all those combos and prepare for this new era of a legendary franchise!
Street Fighter 6 is slated for release in 2023 and will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. Find out more at the official Street Fighter 6 website.
Big machines, loud noises, and a job well done get my juices flowing. As such, I probably should work in the construction field. However, I don’t, so I need to scratch these urges in a virtual world. Accordingly, when I saw Construction Simulator advertised, I jumped at the chance.
Developed by Weltenbauer and published by Astragon Entertainment GmbH, this is a realistic simulation title. What’s more, it utilises finance and business management mechanics and has a rich and rewarding story to explore. This version of Construction Simulator is much bigger than its predecessors and comprises a plethora of real-life brands.
Construction Simulator will take over your life.
Now, I love simulation games as they are absorbing and all-consuming beasts. However, I normally lose interest as they become too complicated, too quickly. Luckily, Construction Simulator doesn’t fall foul of this trap. Instead, its in-depth gameplay is always manageable, and interesting, but mighty time-consuming. Consequently, this isn’t a casual experience!
Thanks to its 2 unique locations that comprise 2 different stories, there is plenty to see and do. You can visit a German-inspired village or a stereotypical city in America. Both locations offer a wide range of jobs to complete, some fantastic landmarks to discover, and some interesting characters to help.
The aim of the game is simple; run your company, turn a profit, and help each town to flourish. En route, you’ll hire or buy new equipment, learn new skills, improve your hero, and create some amazing buildings.
Jump in the cab and drive to your next job.
A wonderful experience.
I had a feeling I’d enjoy Construction Simulator, but I wasn’t sure just how much I’d like it. Thanks to its straightforward gameplay, easy-to-master mechanics, and awesome machinery, I was hooked. Almost immediately, I was amazed by how realistic and balanced it was. Subsequently, at no point was I overwhelmed or frustrated. No, instead, I plodded away, completing every task while improving my business.
Your career revolves around the main contracts that must be completed. These jobs are often long-winded, and complex, and will test your ability. However, they are also extremely rewarding when you complete them. Doing so opens up further tasks while rewarding you with XP and cash to purchase goods and new machines.
It’s truly fascinating to get to grips with some of the best machines. However, what’s truly spectacular is that the developers don’t focus on time-consuming elements. Subsequently, you can choose how much time you choose to invest. If you wish, you can drive to every job site or simply fast-travel for a fee. This was phenomenal as you don’t have to waste time moving machinery. This is particularly important when undertaking complex jobs. Here, you’ll use masses of equipment, and it would soon become tiresome. Fortunately, the fast travel option keeps things moving and the action flowing.
The same approach applies to every building material. If you wanted, you can manually lift every item onto trailers and transport them to each construction site. However, if this doesn’t appeal to you, you can get the building yard to deliver every item to save time. This is how every simulation title should perform, as it maintains realism without unnecessary and tedious noise.
Construction Simulator looks good, but not great!
Unlike its peers, Construction Simulator lacks a high-class finish. This isn’t to say it’s horrible to look at, because it isn’t. However, it is a little rough around the edges, the cinematic lacks polish, and the background isn’t as realistic as I’d hoped. Yet, it’s pleasant on the eye, while being colourful and fun to explore. I particularly liked the stereotypical locations and the variation of building designs and backdrops.
Strangely, the audio has a high-energy and aggressive edge to it. Furthermore, it had undertones of danger and risk, and it didn’t work. I’d have much preferred a selection of basic songs on an in-cab radio. This would have been perfect, as it would have been more realistic. Talking of realism, the sound effects are fantastic. The roar of the engines, the scraping of metal on the soil, and the crunch of wheels on the tarmac was amazing. This part of the audio was incredible, and I never tired of it.
Drive your convoy to each building site.
Complex machines, but easy controls.
I expected Construction Simulator to be an absolute minefield. With so many machines to use, I doubted I’d master any of them. Yet, thankfully, an excellent tutorial talks you through the fundamentals. Moreover, the fantastic UI and well-labelled submenus ensure you never pick the wrong equipment.
Simulation games are renowned for their replay value. Luckily, this is no different. With 2 massive maps to explore, 90+ vehicles to try, 90 contracts to complete, and much, much more, this will absorb you into its virtual world. On top of this, there is a massive achievement list to devour, and you’ll enjoy multiplayer action for up to 4 players as well.
Construction Simulator is incredible.
If you adore the genre, this will tick every box. With masses of things to do, plenty of machines to master, and a deep management model to explore, it is incredible. I have few complaints, and therefore, I can easily recommend you to buy it here! Can you run a perfect construction business? Grab your tools, hire some machines, and make your surroundings shine.
A few years ago, gamers came together to crowdfund the Mega Man spiritual successor, Mighty No. 9. It was spearheaded by former Capcom veteran, Keiji Inafune, and obtained a whopping $4 million in pledges. Subsequently, the game released to horrendous reviews, and was aptly considered a critical failure. Six years on, Super Alloy Ranger, a solo developed title with next to no budget, has managed to fulfil everything Mighty No. 9 wanted to be, and more.
The singular developer in question goes under the pseudonym, alloy mushroom. Their passion and love for 2D platformers is incredibly apparent, and it showed throughout the course of my playthrough. While it certainly isn’t flawless, Super Alloy Ranger serves as a reminder as to why indie games can sometimes trump AAA titles.
Marooned bounty hunters.
Super Alloy Ranger tells the story of 2 bounty hunters, Kelly and Rambos. Their recent purchase of the high-tech spacecraft, Alloy Ranger, has placed them into considerable debt. Hoping to pay this off, they formulate a scheme to capture the notorious criminal Lamos, and cash in the reward.
On their way to Lamos’s last known location, they are intercepted and trapped by an unknown force. Consequently, this turns out to be the planet Tanwada’s protective fields, a long-abandoned world situated in the middle of the galaxy. Shortly thereafter, the Alloy Ranger is boarded by 2 sentient AI units called Combat Robot No.2 and No.3. Seemingly in a similar position, they request to team up. With no other options, Kelly and Rambos agree, and begin exploring the desolate Tanwada for answers.
To be completely transparent, the story doesn’t do much for me. It’s serviceable in getting us from point A to point B, and somewhat emulates the Mega Man aura, albeit inferiorly. However, to be frank about this, the narrative is downright boring.
I found myself desperately wanting to skip through the dialogue, primarily due to its pacing. Although I ultimately resisted the urge, the fact remains that the contents of plot is dull, uninteresting, and worst of all, forgettable. Fortunately, Super Alloy Ranger’s strengths lie within its gameplay, art and music. All of which are absolutely stellar.
Old school platforming action.
As you’ve probably come to expect, Super Alloy Ranger plays akin to Mega Man X. Much like in the later iterations of that series, you have the choice of playing between 2 different characters. The first, Marksman Kelly, plays a lot like X, in that he has ranged weapons at his disposal. On the other hand, Combat Robot No. 2 replicates Zero’s playstyle, with an up-front, melee themed skillset. Both setups are fun in their own right, and offer an independent perspective on the gameplay.
On top of this, both characters can unlock various special abilities to use. Effectively, these are their ultimate attacks which massively impact the current landscape of the battlefield. No. 2 also has the added benefit of receiving a new melee weapon depending on which ability she has primed.
You gain the special abilities by defeating the games formidable bosses. These are located at the end of each stage, and are a true test of your proficiency as a player. You have to navigate around an oncoming barrage of attacks and obstacles, all while finding narrow opportune moments to retaliate. On the highest difficulty, this can be tough to accomplish, but immensely fulfilling when pulled off correctly.
There is one caveat relating to Kelly you should be aware of. Omnidirectional shooting isn’t included in the game, meaning you’ll have to solely riley on cardinal directions. This makes killing some enemies more annoying than it honestly needs to be. Additionally, the analogue stick deadzone for changing where you want to shoot is poorly implemented. As such, I was forced into using the d-pad to make this easier to deal with.
Plenty of movement options and things to discover.
Outside of combat, the movement options remain the same between the two characters. You have the ability to jump, wall bounce, dash, air dodge, and run, all of which control exceedingly well. I did encounter a handful of minor bugs when wall jumping, but this has ostensibly been patched out.
The stages themselves are well balanced and intricately designed, rendering a nice mix between platforming-based sections and combat centric scenarios. You’ll also be able to discover a wide range of secrets if you look hard enough. These can reward you with character improvements such as increased life or mana, as well as key cards to unlock hidden challenge levels.
Awe inspiring art that gives Inafune a run for his money.
It’s hard to quantify just how beautiful Super Alloy Ranger actually is. The sprite work is utterly jaw dropping, with careful consideration having gone into every finite detail. This is most notable in the backgrounds and foregrounds, which are as immaculate as they are varied.
When it comes to the character designs, it’s very obvious where their influences originate from. Still, they manage to retain their own unique identity, and are undeniably memorable for what they are. Animation wise, the execution varies in quality. They never verge on being bad or mediocre, but they aren’t as smooth as their triple A counterparts. Thankfully, the UI is equal to something you might have seen in Mega Man X, meaning tracking resources is simple and easy.
It would also be remiss to not mention the VFX. Once again, these are heavily inspired by the likes of Metal Slug, and are the picture-perfect blend of realism and arcadey goodness. Altogether, alloy mushroom has given Capcom and SNK a run for their money in the visual department.
A surprisingly excellent soundtrack!
If I had to choose one element I love about the old school Mega Man games, it’d be the music. Because of this, I was a little apprehensive going into Super Alloy Ranger. I wasn’t quite sure whether it’d be able to live up to my, admittedly, unreasonable expectations. As luck would have it, my concerns would quickly be squashed.
Appropriately, Super Alloy Ranger utilises the chiptune genre, encompassing the games overall ambiance and aesthetic. What’s more, it imitates the SNES sound chip to further authenticate the retro vibe. All of the tracks are extremely energetic and catchy, which works in tandem to expertly match the pulse of the game.
To cap it all off, the SFX are the quintessential embodiment of the 90s style approach. Everything from the basic attacks to the special abilities are high-octane and impactful. Regardless if you prefer playing as Kelly or No. 2, you’re going to feel like total badass.
Conclusion
In summary, Super Alloy Ranger is a short, yet passionate love letter to the Mega Man series. The gameplay, remaining simplistic in its approach, is unbelievably engaging and accessible. Although the narrative direction is mostly forgettable and lacklustre, the visual and audio departments more than make up for it through their superb presentation. I can easily recommend Super Alloy Ranger to retro 2D platforming fans, especially those who enjoyed Mega Man X, or the Metal Slug series.
I don’t often pick up shooters on the basis that when it comes to bullet hell games, I usually get frustrated before too long. There are, of course, exceptions to that rule. One such exception I discovered at EGX 2022, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing. Developed by KeelWorks and published by Konami.
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a twin-stick, vertical shooter that brings epic visuals and more to the genre.
Background
The story sees you as a lone pilot (or you can team up in local co-op) to plunge into an all-out war and fight for survival. The official blurb for the game sets the scene: Encamped within the remains of a long-lost civilization on the planet CYGNI, the colony is decimated by a surprise attack from a powerful, biomechanical, alien race. As one of the last pilots on one of the very few remaining carriers in the fleet, you are the only line of defence against the unyielding alien bombardment.
CYGNI: All Guns BlazingGameplay
What I particularly loved about this game is that it’s more than just shooting – while you have unlimited ammo, and a variety of weapons, you need to employ some tactical thinking. You can route energy from defensive systems to offensive ones and must manage this closely to get past the onslaught. Featuring air-to-air combat and air-to-ground attacks CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a shooter like none other. It’s a shooter for the modern era.
As well as flying your ship in a vertical scroller to dodge ships, attacks and more you also come up across gargantuan bosses in epic space battles.
Once you get used to the controls, the controls are straightforward, and I can’t help but hope that this game has controller and maybe even joystick support on PC. The game is also coming to console so this may be an option if you prefer sticks to mice.
I cannot stress enough how difficult this game is! However, no matter how many times I died in my brief gameplay session I wanted to respawn and try again. Try new maneuvers, weapon types, and tactics. Play with my energy output more and try and beat the alien onslaught. In that respect, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is addictive.
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing Audio and Visuals
What this game promises, and from the experience I had delivered, is breathtaking visuals. The game is simply stunning and a complete visual and aural feast. To call it cinematic is almost an understatement. The ships are well designed, and the SFX for the weapons is bright and punchy and will come at you from every direction – giving you the sensation of being in the most insane dogfight of all time. The aliens themselves are also unique in design and at no point did the experience feel repetitive.
When you can catch your breath for a moment between onslaughts you can appreciate the equally epic soundtrack.
Final Thoughts and Release Information
This game changes my attitude to bullet hell shooters, maybe I should avoid less of them because CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is shaping up to be a complete next-gen gem. It’s fast, it’s loud, it’s visually stunning and it will test your hand-eye coordination to the next level. Wishlist on Steam now and be ready to lock and load. The invasion is coming!
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is currently in development and set for release in 2023. The game will be released on PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
EGX 2022, a convention as lively as a bear on a rampage. The lights and sounds of games being played filled the air with a sense of excitement. It was like last night at the circus; standing in the middle of it, I felt like the circus master. I took my seat at an unassuming game, Shadows of Doubt, surrounded by vines that crept up the sides of the booth like… vines.
– Me (trying to be a film-noir PI)
Ok, now I’ve got the ‘PI monologue’ out of my system, I can say that one of the most jaw-droppingly detailed games I got my hands on was Shadows of Doubt. From ColePowered Games and published by Fireshine Games comes a detective stealth game like nothing I’ve played before.
In a sci-fi noir city that could be ripped from the pages of Frank Miller, you embark on an assignment to catch a serial killer. By any means necessary. The game is set in a fictional, hyper-industrialised 1980s city where the police outsource work. You take the role of one of these outsourced contractors in an assignment to catch a killer.
Shadows of Doubt Gameplay
What makes this game stand out is how much you can explore. It’s literally everything. Every building, every room, every NPC, pretty much every single item. It’s astonishing. The game has a main storyline and many side-quests that can earn you extra cash. This cash comes in handy for buying new gear, upgrading your office and apartment, and more. As I traversed through the city, which is totally free-roam, I found myself in shops, other people’s homes, and on the streets. I felt like a real noir private detective and almost broke into one of those ‘the rain beat down on the sidewalk’ monologues.
You can break into buildings, hack computers, and steal items all as part of your investigation. Just be sure to be stealthy and don’t get caught or you’ll find yourself under attack! As you find clues, and build up your investigation, notes and details are added to your journal as a ‘murder board’, and files of clues start to lead you to new areas, new paths of investigation, and new suspects to talk to.
If this wasn’t impressive enough, every single NPC has a life. They have apartments, jobs, routines, favourite things to do and places to go, and people to interact with. Their lives will continue without you, when you uncover this information, it will play into the secrets of this dark and stormy city. With a blend of procedural generation and hand-crafted design, I have never experienced a world so genuinely alive. Because of this, every game experience should feel unique, but not so totally random. This is open world simulation at the next level.
With elements of RPG, you can level up your skills and become more proficient in stealth techniques. The game played well when I got used to the controls and I was able to navigate the world, journal, and menus easily.
Shadows of Doubt has Atmosphere…
Graphically, the art style reminds me of older FPS and RPG games, and I didn’t have a problem with this. The atmosphere is really developed though in the sound effects and music. Blending a perfect film-noir soundtrack with sounds of a city, and rain, you could immerse yourself fully.
My gameplay session went well… until I accidentally stole something and ended up having to kill two citizens that retaliated. I’ll need to work on my stealth skills before jumping back in!
Release and Availability
With no firm release date, I hope it’s not a long wait for Shadows of Doubt. The game will be available on PC, and you can wishlist it on Steam now!
